If there is one food that represents summer and the Mediterranean it must be the tomato and as such it always is a key item on Christmas day, especially in the form of these fritters.
Whilst I love a tomato, basil and mozzarella salad, when you have some very ripe and delicious tomatoes to hand, why not give these Santorini Tomato Fritters a go as part of your Christmas celebrations, for a lazy Sunday lunch or as an addition to some lamb chops for dinner. There are several versions of these fritters and I have varied the version adding some basil, and some feta, and being very generous with the mint – usually a combination of spearmint and common mint. This recipe serves 4 as part of a meze.
Santorini Tomato Rissoles
5 or 6 large ripe tomatoes
1 small red onion
1 heaped tablespoon chopped parsley ( I like to use flat leaf)
I heaped tablespoon mint (or more)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup plain flour (more if you feel they need a little more binding)
Olive oil
Finely dice the tomatoes (some recipes suggest you peel and seed them but I generally do not bother to peel but do remove some of the seeds) and place together in a bowl with the onion, parsley, mint, sugar, tomato paste and season. If you are using feta as an addition, also add to the bowl. Mix everything together and then add the flour and mix to a batter consistency.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and place a tablespoon of the mixture into the hot oil. Only turn over once so cook each side until golden brown. I like to sprinkle a little more sea salt and mint on top immediately after removing from the pan.
Serve while hot with some yoghurt with mint or some tzatziki.
(ps. you might have to go back into the kitchen to make another batch so make sure you have some extra tomatoes on hand.)
